Who We Are
by Prophe-Cass
Summary: Marinette can't - UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES - become the infamous Ladybug. Not when she's trapped with Char Noir. And especially not when he has no idea who she truly is! And UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES was he allowed to reveal HIS alter ego! But sometimes, there's no choice.


**This is my first Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction. To the Miraculous Ladybug fans, I am sixty-precent sure this was a huge failure. To my Voltron fans: I know you were expecting a long AU FanFiction after season 8, and…I was considering that. But then I realized I could cover it up in Legacy, and there's already most fans doing what I wanted to do, a-and, I-I just… *sighs* I'm rambling. Forgive me.**

 **In a nutshell: I devoted all my time to write this before anything else! Let's begin.**

* * *

Nobody knew who this new akumatized victim was. (Well, probably Chloe knew, but she wouldn't say anything.)

All they knew was that this new beast could create hollow blocks to trap their enemies.

At the time that it happened, Chat Noir had dropped onto Marinette's roof for a surprise visit, as he usually did now and again when he was feeling especially down.

They didn't usually talk, but just basked in each other's presence, staring over the roofs of the houses.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Marinette asked after a bit of mournful silence, blinking at him. When she was Ladybug, he never let himself seem so down.

"Yeah." Chat sighed, shrugging. "I just…sometimes need a friend to talk to. I don't know where to find Ladybug, and…I can't go to any of my real friends since they don't realize it's me, and it'd be weird…so you're the closest thing I have to a Ladybug."

Marinette not knowing what to say (especially since she was Ladybug), only blushed and smiled at him. "Thank you."

"No problem." Chat Noir responded, blinking at her kindly. "I should get going. Got to get up early tomorrow to save Paris, you know?"

Marinette laughed, looking at her toes. "Alright, Chat Noir. Sleep well!"

Chat Noir smiled before standing up from his perch on her handrail. He stretched, freezing as the blissful silence was interrupted by screams of terror, which became muffled as soon as they began, before disappearing.

"What was that?! Where was it coming from?!" Chat Noir pondered, glancing around wildly.

"You're the one with cat ears." Marinette teased, looking around as well. Later, she would realize she could have avoided it all if she had just told Chat Noir she was going to go down into her room to avoid trouble, and transform there. Instead, she just stood there, helping Chat Noir look.

"Probably an akumatized victim." Chat Noir hissed, stepping down next to Marinette. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Marinette blinked at him in surprise, a slight smile gracing her lips.

Before either could say anything, something knocked against Chat Noir's leg.

"What is that?!" Chat Noir jumped in surprise, looking down.

Marinette followed his gaze and frowned, shocked.

Near his right foot was a small rubix cube, the classic three-by-three.

"A rubix-?!" Marinette was cut off as it suddenly glowed with a purple energy, growing to an enormous size. It phased right thorough the two young teenagers, stopping once it surrounded it completely.

Marinette winced, preparing for hard pressure on every side.

Instead, it was hollow, giving enough room to move five steps in either direction if one stood in a corner.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette cried, silently hoping she was alone so she could transform into Ladybug.

"I'm right next to you." Chat Noir hummed, flinching. (Marinette could tell because his shoulder bushed her's for a split second.) "No need to yell; I do have cat ears, after all."

"Sorry. But we're trapped!" Marinette squeaked, pressing her back against the wall.

Tikki let out a little peep as Marinette's bag got trapped against the other wall on Marinette's left.

Marinette would normal apologize, but then Chat Noir would think her crazy.

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir cried, the cell burning with a glowing green black ball of electricity. "No worries, m'lady, I'll get us out of here."

Did he just call her… m'lady? He probably called EVERY girl that, but it still - for some reason - made Marinette's heart beat with rage. That was his pet name for her - er - Ladybug. Why did he use it on HER?

The light disappeared as he slammed his hand against the nearest wall, which quickly vaporized- to reveal a second layer.

"Not cool." Chat Noir grunted, taking a step back. "Now I have five minutes before I change back. Ladybug better come soon!"

"What if…she's also trapped?" Marinette asked, giggling slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "She's probably not, but what if she is? That'll be totally disastrous, and-!"

"Calm down, Marinette." Chat Noir grinned, shaking his head. "If you turn away, I can transform back to causal-me and then transform back!"

Marinette was hesitant, opening up her bag to look down at Tikki nervously. She could see the shine of her friend's eyes as she nodded encouragingly, as if she knew something Marinette didn't. "Alright, Chat. Go ahead." Marinette dared, turning around and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Plagg, claws out."

There was a rummaging noise, then a soft "eat up, Plagg."

"I'm eating, I'm eating." An annoyed voice responded, followed by the sounds of someone definitely NOT chewing.

It seemed like an eternity until Chat Noir summoned his Kwami back into his ring. "Alright, Marinette. Turn around."

Marinette obeyed instantly, blinking in the darkness. "Was that your Kwami? Um…'Plagg'?"

"Huh? You know about that?" Chat Noir gapped, startled.

Marinette hummed a startled noise, blinking hastily as she thought of an excuse. "W-well, I-I'm friends-s with A-Alya, and she owns the L-Ladyblog, and she's an e-expert on Supervillians- Uhhh - I mean SuperHEROES and s-so she knows all about Kwamis!"

Chat Noir laughed, shaking his head. "You're cool, Marinette. Maybe next time we dish out a Miraculous, you'll be the next keeper!"

"M-me?!"

"Yeah! You're smart, and…"

"Chat Noir?" Marinette interrupted gently, not wanting to stumble over her words again with embarrassment. "The cube?"

"Oh! Right." Chat Noir laughed, not seeming to realize how she distinctly directed the conversation away from herself. "Cataclysm!"

Again, he repeated the same motions, sticking his hand against the wall. When it revealed ANOTHER layer, he let out a frustrated groan. "I'm out of cheese…aw, dang it!"

"Maybe…there's another way out!" Marinette realized, beaming. "The rubix cube is probably the akumatized person's power! He traps people. The cube at our feet was mismatched, right?"

"…yeah…"

"It's a puzzle! If we solve it, we can get out!"

Chat Noir thought for a bit, then admitted "I don't think we can, Marinette. We can't see the color codes, therefore can't solve it. But I know someone who can!" He announced, flipping on his equipment. "Ladybug!" He called, opening up the phone feature. "I don't know where you are, but we - Marinette and I - need serious help! We're trapped inside a cube, and we can't solve it from the inside, and my Cataclysm isn't going too terribly well. We need you!"

Chat Noir waited a few moments then put it away, groaning. "She didn't answer."

"I don't think she's coming." Marinette sighed, dipping her head. "Chat, what if…she's trapped too?" She repeated, staring at her shoes.

"Maybe." Chat Noir admitted, his ring beeping loudly to signal it was going to turn back in four minutes. "Um…can you keep a secret of my identity if I turn back when we're still in here?"

Marinette stared in shock, then began to open her purse again. "I'm sure I have a macaroon in here, if your Kwami like that sort of thing… I was carry macaroons with me, just in case! I don't think it's a good idea to…um…well, try to ensure your secret identity to me! I'm such a clumsy girl!"

"It's fine, Marinette. You should keep it. Besides, I trust you." Chat Noir assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You're too hasty to reveal your secret identity, Chat Noir!" Marinette gasped, taking a step back.

"I don't see what's the big deal." Chat Noir shrugged, blinking his green eyes at her. "If I trust you, it's my choice to tell you or not. And…I do trust you."

"I don't see why. We hardly run into reach other." Marinette reminded him, though secretly winking at herself.

"…I just have a hunch." Chat Noir shrugged, smiling at her, ignoring his beeping ring signaling three minutes.

"You're…you're right, Chat. We should always share our secrets with those we trust most." Marinette realized, looking at him gently.

"You're not going to tell Alya, are you?" Chat Noir jumped. "It should be my decision who I tell and who knows."

"Oh, no, don't be milly - I MEAN SILLY! Heh, heh…just…" Marinette shook her head clumsily, smiling at him. "It caught be by surprise, that's all."

Chat Noir's gaze softened, and he smiled. "I'll accept that macaroon, Marinette. Because this is kind of a perilous situation and one more go can't do anymore harm."

"Right." Marinette nodded, reaching into her bad. Secretly, though, she also silently gestured Tikki out.

Tikki obeyed, though falteringly. Her gaze landing on Chat Noir for a split second.

Marinette gave her a reassuring smile, then handed Chat Noir the treat. A split second after Chat Noir took it gratefully from her, she cried out "Tikki, spots on!"

Chat Noir started, surprised by the sudden noise. He was about to remind her to keep it down when he realized just what she was saying and froze, staring at her in horror.

Marinette transformed, before his very eyes, into Ladybug, surrounded by a shining red light.

"M-m'lady?!" Chat Noir screeched, his green eyes widening.

"No time to chat, kitty." Ladybug chided, looking around. "We've got to find a way out of his mess."

Chat Noir jumped to attention, stumped by her sudden change in attitude. "We've already tried. No success, remember?"

"Right. How about a lucky charm?" Ladybug tempted, arching an eyebrow.

Chat Noir was still struck funny, and he only stared at her, though he couldn't see her perfectly due to the dark surroundings. But he knew it was her.

"Chat? I didn't break you, did I?" Ladybug quipped, arching an eyebrow in a teasing gesture.

"Huh-? Uh…kinda…I'm still…Marinette, YOU'RE Ladybug?!"

"Keep it down. These boxes might not be sound proof." Ladybug hushed, putting one hand on the wall. "De-transform and power up, Chat."

Chat Noir nodded, then paused, noticing how she turned her face away from him. "Ladybug, you can watch me. Really. I don't mind."

Ladybug hesitated for only a moment, before remembering that it was him, originally, who wanted to reveal his identity. "Alright."

"Plagg, claws in." He ordered his Kwami, and Plagg came out of this ring, the suit disappearing.

Ladybug nearly collapsed. Instead of Chat Noir in front of her, now was the person she least expected, but had hoped was the man behind the mask.

Adrien Agrest, stood bravely in front of her, golden hair in a very similar style to Chat Noir, his classic white jacket drawn tightly around his shoulders. His eyebrows were even knit in the same worried expression Chat Noir sometimes carried.

Ladybug's mouth dropped open as he fed the macaroon to Plagg, both of them watching each other with worry.

 _Well. There goes my wits._ Ladybug decided with annoyance, staring at him.

"Is there…something wrong, Ladybug?" Adrien ventured, his green eyes turning sorrowful as he took in her perturbed expression.

"A-Adrien, you're…that's not possible!" Ladybug gasped, shaking. "I've seen you and Chat Noir in the same place before with Groilla!"

"That was a kid I enlisted to help me be in two places at once." Adrien assured her.

"B-but, I went to check on you after Volpina, and-!"

"I'm more familiar with the route to my house then you. I beat you there. Barely."

"I guess this all checks out…" Ladybug hummed, staring at the teenager. "Wait! What about that time you were trapped in Horrificator's slime? You spoke to me from one of the goo blobs."

"I faked that." Adrien admitted, twiddling his thumbs.

"And Zombizou's power? You were effected before you transformed into Chat Noir."

"Ha! Clueless women. You had no idea!" Plagg chuckled, swallowing the rest of the macaroon.

"Plagg!" Adrien scolded before turning back to the heroine. "Also faked."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense…" Ladybug shook her head, huffing. "Hmm. We can hit more on this subject later. Right now, we gotta get out of here."

"Oh, yeah." Adrien looked a bit disgruntled by the change of subject, but he quickly re-summoned his black cat costume, huffing a bit as the familiar fabric wrapped tighter around his body.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug's power shot from her yo-yo, her magical butterflies forming and mashing together until it created…

"A butter knife?" Ladybug blinked, balancing the abnormally large knife in her hands.

"How're we going to use that? It's as tall as me!" Chat Noir fretted, taking it from her, hefting it in his arm. "Huh. It's lighter then I thought."

"Weird thing is: everything my power makes is really, really light." Ladybug joked, then looked down at the knife. "Hmmm…"

Glancing around, her eyes landed on Chat Noir's expandable stick and beamed. "I know what to do!"

"You do?" Chat Noir blinked, shocked. Out of the few objects in this prison, how did she already think of a plan?

"Yes! I do." Ladybug worked swiftly, pounding her hand against the wall until she detected the borderline between two of the squares. Then, she plucked the knife from Chat Noir and dug it into the wall, the knife not quite going in all the way through the wall.

"Put your staff here." Ladybug pointed to the opposite wall, and Chat obeyed, waiting patiently for her next orders.

"Extend!" Ladybug cried, and Chat Noir jumped to action.

The moment his staff extended it rammed into the knife, the strength of the weapon forcing the knife blade fully through the wall.

Ladybug pulled on the knife, grunting slightly until it came free.

Then, she and Chat Noir repeated the steps once more on the other three sides of the chosen box.

Finally, they were able to push on the cube and it came undone, coming out from the box.

It was only just big enough for Chat Noir and Ladybug to squeeze through, and, when they did, they found themselves in a large warehouse, of sorts, other rubix cube prisons ringing with the sound of people shouting and slamming their hands against the walls.

"We got to save these people!" Chat Noir cried, realizing with awe that, sure enough, all of the rubix cubes were mismatched.

"The sooner we captured the akuma, the sooner they get freed."

"Right." Chat Noir nodded, though he still looked hesitant.

"The warehouse is shaped like a rubix cube." Ladybug realized, tracing it. "But the cube at the top is missing."

"It's probably so-" Chat Noir was cut off as a rubix-prison floated up and over the large whole, coming down and stopping itself in a perfect square. "-Yeah. That."

 _All the cubes looked almost like a perfectly stacked puzzle of Janga blocks,_ Ladybug realized, looking at it. _All these poor people, trapped here. There was at least half of Paris is in these prisons._

"Let's go, Chat!" Marinette ordered, swinging her Yo-Yo. She was momentarily thankful that it had as much string as she needed at any given time.

It latched onto…SOMETHING and she easily pulled herself up, taking a deep breath.

Chat Noir extended his stick and landed next to her, copying her nervous inhale, pursing his lips. The warehouse was sitting in the middle of the canal, and by turning around they could look out over the entire city.

"Where do you think the akumatized victim is?" Chat asked, gripping the staff tightly.

"We have no idea what caused the victim to get emotional, but I'll bet anything that Chloe was probably behind it one way or another." Ladybug growled, turning towards Chloe's house.

"I hate talking smack about friends, but you're probably right." Chat Noir admitted, looking at the hotel as well. "Let's go."

Before either could move, a rubix cube - coming from the opposite direction - floated overhead and went into the rubix cube prison.

"I have a feeling the akumatized victim is over there." Chat Noir deadpanned, pointing in the direction the puzzle box had come from.

"Most likely." Ladybug admitted, swinging her Yo-Yo.

"You're running out of time from your lucky charm." Chat Noir warned, pointing to her blinking earrings.

"Oh! Glad you caught that." Ladybug glanced to the side, sighing. "Well, we'll have to hurry."

"Chop-chop." Chat Noir joked, quickly steeling himself. "After you."

Ladybug nodded back to him, catapulting herself to the nearest building.

It wasn't until three more jumps had been deployed that she realized - this entire time she hadn't stuttered once. She still thought of him as Chat Noir, despite knowing who the man under the mask was. She couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

Alas, before she properly could think it through, a rubix cube buzzed my her head, narrowly missing her.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir leaped at her, knocking her to her knees then to her stomach, pinning her down as a flock of boxes soared overhead.

For once, Ladybug didn't protest the awkward position, though she did sigh slightly by his overprotectiveness. Then again, he now knew she was the super-clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Sorry." Chat Noir muttered once it was over, scrambling off of her awkwardly.

Both superheroes still kept low, peaking over the edge of the roof top.

"Come out, Ladybug and Chat Noir, wherever you are! And bring me -Rudeix - your Miraculous!" The villain shouted, not noticing the two teenagers crouching atop of the roof.

"I recognize his voice. That's Logan Marshal." Chat Noir told Ladybug, ducking out of sight of Rudeix. "He's a kid from my fencing class, and he is OBSESSED with rubix cubes. He has a new one every week, though his favorite is the classic one. I should have guessed this would be him."

"Any ideas to defeat him?" Ladybug asked, a curious gleam to her eye.

Chat Noir opened his mouth to suggest a move, when suddenly the ground beneath them broke, and they collapsed.

Rudeix had used a gigantic cube as a wreaking ball, destroying the building within seconds, an evil grin plastered on his face.

"There you are!"

Ladybug's earrings beeped again as she shakily stood, and she let out a gasp of alarm. "I'm about ready to change back!"

"I'll cover you!" Chat Noir waved her on, a strange look over his face.

Ah. He might be remembering her alter-ego's clumsiness.

"I'm fine!" Ladybug shouted, beginning to feel annoyed. This was probably why she didn't like to reveal her identity.

Chat Noir nodded, trying to ignore it when she tripped over her own feet on the way towards an ally a short distance away.

Instead, he turned his attention to the akumatized Rudeix, grinning cheekily at him.

Every part of Rudix's skin-tight suit had square lines on it, dividing the cloth to look like a rubix cube grid.

"Hmm. I must say, your fashion sense isn't very appealing." Chat Noir joked, spinning his stick round and round as he took several steps backward from Rudeix.

"How dare you!" Rudeix roared, holding out a rubix cube. He tapped special squares of the cube, and a larger rubix cube appeared above Chat Noir, threatening to crush him.

"How dare I what?" Chat Noir quipped, dodging out of the way.

Another cube appeared above him, which he easily dodged again as it collapsed where he had been standing just a moment before. He catapulted on top of it, grinning. "Hey! It's rude manners to crush people!"

"Stand still, you mangy…" Rubeix's voice died away, replaced by a smile.

Chat Noir's smile faded, too, worry knitting his eyebrows together as he frowned. No doubt, Rubeix had a plan to kill him and steal his Miraculous. Also, Chat Noir had watched enough movies and read enough comic books to know that when a villain smiled, it meant bad news.

With a few more quick taps, the rubix cube beneath Chat Noir disappeared.

He scrambled in air for a second before landing - perfectly - on all four paws. Unfortunately, his position left him no time to fully get out of the way of the much larger rubix cube appearing above him hardly ten meters away. He had just enough time to summon his staff and extend it towards the middle square to keep himself from getting squished, the cube balancing perfectly on his pole.

He groaned, realizing if he shifted himself, the cube might come crashing down.

He didn't have a chance to properly think about it, because, in the next moment, something wrapped around his waist. Without looking, he realized he knew what it was. He glanced up, giving Rudeix a cheeky smile, he hardly had time to register Rudeix's surprised expression before Ladybug's Yo-Yo jerked him back.

He felt himself collide with her, laying there stunned for a moment.

"For a cat, you sure at heavy." Ladybug hummed, chuckling.

"Thank you for the compliment, M'lady." Chat Noir almost face-palmed as he repeated the familiar words. He didn't view Marinette that way! It was the second time today he had called her that without meaning to.

As he mentally kicked himself, he scrambled off of her, offering her a hand up.

"Sorry, Ladybug." Chat Noir stammered, offering her a worried smile.

Ladybug just shrugged, blushing deeply. "I-it's fine. Let's take care of Rudeix first, though."

Chat Noir blinked, a bit surprised. Normally she would scold him. Did finding out who he really was make her that…different? He hoped she wasn't disappointed.

Rudeix was just watching them as they stood there, a mild expression on his face as a purple moth mask appeared around his face, glowing.

Chat Noir wasn't sure what Hawkmoth was telling the young villain, but it probably had the words 'Ladybug', 'Chat Noir', 'Miraculouses' and 'Get' in it.

"I shall get their powers for you, Hawkmoth." Rudeix assured the invisible foe, confirming Chat Noir's suspicions. Suddenly, the akumatized victim surged forward, his hands flying across the cube's grid, pressing in buttons.

Ladybug dodged to right as a rubix cube nearly landed of them, Chat Noir to the left.

"I'm guessing the akuma's in his rubix cube." Chat Noir called over to Ladybug, before realizing how dumb that sounded. "The one he's typing on." He clarified.

"Got it!" Ladybug nodded, still looking at him with - Chat Noir couldn't believe it - admiration. It was like…she saw him in a new way. Now that Chat Noir looked back on it, she had always acted a bit…too nervous and anxious around Adrien. Maybe she now saw him as Chat Noir and Adrien combined. Capable of being a jokester but also serious. A nice medium.

Actually, the further back Chat Noir looked back, the more certain he was that Ladybug had a huge crush on Adrien.

Huh. How could he have been so oblivious?

"Lucky Charm!" She called, summoning her power before quickly dodging to the side as Rudeix attacked again.

"A notebook?" Ladybug blinked, staring in bewilderment at the paper.

"What're you going to do with that?" Chat Noir asked, doing a few expert flips over to her.

"I'm not sure…" Ladybug's gaze, whipped around, landing on a few precious objects.

Following her eyes, Chat Noir saw her look at his hand, her yo-yo, and the notebook.

"Cover me, Chat!" She ordered, her partner jumping to attention. He looked over at Rudeix, who was once again typing on his cube.

"We gotta get out of here!" Chat Noir warned, looking over at Ladybug.

"I know!" Ladybug roared, beginning to pull out a sheet of paper. "I need a few more moments."

"I don't think we have a few more moments!" Chat Noir warned loudly, looking questioningly at Rudeix, who was still typing. At this rate, the cube he would summon would be able to demolish twenty buildings!

"I need more time!" Ladybug pleaded, folding the paper expertly.

Chat Noir turned towards her, eyes frantically wide, his voice tuned down to a whisper. "Marinette…please…we need to go!"

Ladybug nearly bristled at the name, but she looked more surprised then angry. "Just a little longer!"

Chat Noir knew they didn't have time. Even now the cube was beginning to appear above them, threatening to collapse at any moment. There was no way Ladybug could finish whatever she was doing and get out of the way. One or the other.

Or maybe…Chat looked at Ladybug, then looked at the buildings still untouched by the cube's shadow. He had no choice.

Chat Noir bent down, scooping Ladybug up, on arm around her back, the other under her knees. While picking her up, Chat Noir grabbed her supplies, tucking them into her lap.

Ladybug stared for a long moment at Chat Noir, no doubt horrified by the strange position, but she managed to shake it off, though taking fifteen seconds to do so.

She returned to her paper, continuing with the folding, while Chat ran, pulling out several more sheets of paper and folding them in the same manner into…into…

Chat Noir really didn't want to put too much thought into the pile of paper airplanes that was growing in Ladybug's lap.

Chat Noir was almost to the edge when the cube began falling. Of course, Rudeix was just out of its perimeter. He closed his eyes and ran like all the world.

He wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly he was pulled from behind.

He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he must have dropped Ladybug, because she let out a soft gasp of surprise as she dropped away from him, easily doing a cool move to bring herself to her feet as she brushed off the paper airplanes to one side and the notebook went under her arm.

She blinked, looking a bit startled as to how she fell. Her eyes traveled around until they saw Chat, and then they widened.

Why couldn't he feel pain? That must be a bad sign. Chat Noir wasn't very eager to look behind him and see the damage. He must be seriously injured.

"Ch- Adrien!" Ladybug switched names hesitantly, a blush creeping across her cheeks as she said the name. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Chat Noir blinked, frowning. "What got me?"

"The huge rubix cube…" Ladybug was obviously inspecting something, so Chat Noir didn't move, for fear that if he so much as breathed, he would instantly feel the pain set in. Maybe it had crushed his legs? Destroyed his nerves?

"Fortunately, it's only the tail that's got trapped." Ladybug sighed, relief in her voice.

"Whew! I was worried it was something for cat-astrophic." Chat Noir joked, sitting up - no easy feat when most of your tail is trapped - and feeling free to look behind him.

Sure enough, his tail was the only part caught. Chat Noir breathed a sigh of relief as Ladybug stooped closer, fiddling with the belt.

Ladybug quickly unbuckled his tail from his body, and Chat Noir scampered forward, literally purring once he was finally free.

Ladybug looked at the tail peaking out from under the cube, and sighed. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave it. For now, we've got to get to the Eiffel Tower. Help me carry these."

Chat Noir obeyed, following Ladybug. He glanced back at his tail, silently relieved it hadn't been his legs or something else.

"I'll bet Rudeix is close on our tail." Chat Noir hissed, glancing up at the towering rubix cube.

Ladybug suddenly burst out laughing, and Chat jumped at the sound, suddenly registering that she had the same laugh as Marinette. Which made sense, they were the same person. How didn't he see it before? He was a blind -er, deaf - guy.

"Chat…" she giggled, shaking her head. "You don't have a tail!"

Chat also chuckled at the realization - they had shared a two part joke! He couldn't believe it. For once Ladybug was dropping her professional act and behaving more carefree around him!

Ladybug finally calmed down enough to begin walking, shaking her head at her partner.

Chat Noir followed her, scooping up the airplanes. "Mind sharing your plan?"

As Ladybug explained, Chat Noir kept his cat ears perked, listening for Rudeix. He knew that the villain had been untouched by the cube, and would most likely be following the duo of heroes.

After nearly one minute of vaulting off of rooftops, the two heroes landed in the middle of the ground beneath the Eiffel Tower.

"This should work." Ladybug nodded, handing two paper airplanes to Chat Noir and taking two herself. "Rudeix should be here any-"

Her thoughts were interrupted as a rubix cube crashed down just outside the Eiffel Tower. Who should stand on its top but Rudeix, a strong frown on his face.

"Stop running, heroes!" Rudeix demanded, snarling.

"We're just getting warmed up!" Chat Noir taunted, hoping from foot to foot.

"We're not running." Ladybug smirked. "But you're cheating. You're playing coward, hiding behind cubes. Why don't you come fight us yourself?"

Once again the purple mask appeared around the villain's face, but for once he didn't respond to Hawkmoth, shrugging it off as he moved foreword. He kept his cube wrapped tightly in his hand, for fear of losing it.

The moment he came within six yards of them, Ladybug and Chat Noir threw their paper airplanes with all their might, making sure they flew directly on their adversary.

Rudeix's eyes widened in surprise, and he took several steps back, mouth dropping open.

While he was focused on the airplanes, Ladybug's yo-yo lashed out, hitting him in the gut. She continued her attack while Chat Noir took the notebook in hand. He used his power on it, transforming it to ash.

By this point in time, the paper airplanes had already bounced off of Rudeix, and he was no longer distracted by them. Now he looked over at Ladybug's attacking yo-yo, and an evil smile creeped across his face. Hand lashing out, it grabbed onto her yo-yo and pulled at it, making her stumble forward.

"Chat!" She cried, resisting as best she could as Rudeix tugged at the weapon.

Chat Noir didn't say anything, instead circling Rudeix carefully until the wind was to his back, blowing towards Rudeix.

Rudeix was watching him and Ladybug at the same time, a scowl printed across his face. He knew they were planning something, but he didn't know what.

Suddenly, Chat Noir opened both hands, the wind - surprisingly strong for a Parisian evening - blew the ash towards Rudeix in a strong current.

Before Rudeix could react, the ash was in his face, and he was stumbling back and forth. "My eyes! You fools, what have you done?!"

As he was flaying about, Chat Noir walked calmly over, plucking the cube from Rudeix's hands.

Rudeix, though still blind, managed to throw a punch at the hero, though Chat Noir ducked.

"Ha, missed me!" He taunted, dodging closer to Ladybug as Rudeix tried to get him.

Ladybug took the cube from Chat Noir, the two of them watching it smash, the little puzzle pieces flying in every direction.

As expected, a black butterfly pulled itself from the middle of the broken pieces, flying as far from the duo as it could manage.

"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." Ladybug recited, feeling a bit self-conscious reciting the familiar words as Chat Noir watched her expectantly.

Man, the next time she saw him in a not-so-dangerous situation, she'd be a stammering mess, she was sure.

She unraveled her yo-yo, preparing to snag the akuma. "Time to de-evilize!" Her yo-yo buzzed through the air, expertly snagging the akuma from it's retreat and back into her hands. "Gotcha!"

Ladybug was always curious why the villain never hid away their azumatized object somewhere safe - Style Queen was the exception - like their house. Nobody would ever think to look there. Well, actually, Ladybug had once went to an akumatized victim's house, when Pixleator was the hypnotized person. But that didn't really…count.

Remembering the story, Ladybug sighed softly, pressing the button on her yo-yo to release the akuma.

It had miraculously transformed from a black and purple hue into a pure white shade while in her device, and it gladly flew away gracefully on the wind.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly." Ladybug waved, watching it fly away. Then, she took one of the paper airplanes nearby, and tossed it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Glowing, red ladybugs burst from the Lucky Charm, sparkling as they cleared up the damage. Most of it could not be seen from the base of the Eiffel Tower, but the cube sitting in the ground that Rudeix was taken away, as wells as the other three paper airplanes.

Finally, last, but not least, Rudeix reverted back into his civilian form.

"Pound it!" Both superheroes said together, fist bumping. Promptly, they both blushed, looking away from each other.

"I wonder what happened to him." Chat Noir mentioned, changing the subject hastily. "Logan's usually so cheerful."

Ladybug forced herself not to look at Chat Noir - much less speak to him. Now that the peril was over, the reality of his identity was preparing to hit her full force, she was sure.

Dropping on a knee beside Logan, Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder, smiling kindly at him. "Hello, Logan, right? Do you remember what happened?"

Logan thought about it for a moment, then slowly nodded his head. "It was a girl named Chloe. She teased me for being nerdy enough to solve a rubix cube."

"That's nothing to be ashamed about." Ladybug soothed, smiling gently. "Being able to complete rubix cubes is something amazing and special to you. Embrace that about yourself." She stood to go, earrings beeping, and smiled down at Logan. "I have to leave, now. Bug out!"

She knew that Chat Noir was watching her go; she could feel his gaze burning into the back of her skull.

She hoped he knew that she needed sometime to herself, to think.

Oh, how could she face him at school tomorrow?


End file.
